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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27856341">Ni cuy' olar ad'ika (I am here Little one)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starrdust31/pseuds/Starrdust31'>Starrdust31</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mandalorian Tumblr Commissions [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Din Djarin Needs a Hug, F/M, Good Parent Din Djarin, Protective Din Djarin, Soft Din Djarin, This Is The Way</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:54:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,557</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27856341</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starrdust31/pseuds/Starrdust31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"I was wondering if you would be ok writing a platonic Mando/Reader (the reader is like a teenager or young adult), where the reader gets anxious when Mando is gone for long periods of time hunting for bounties due to past trauma of their family leaving them (albeit not on purpose, they were taken away). And since they have to stay on the ship and take care of the child, they can’t go with him to make sure he’s alright. Just something I thought of."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Din Djarin/Reader, Din Djarin/You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mandalorian Tumblr Commissions [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2018993</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>93</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ni cuy' olar ad'ika (I am here Little one)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"I'll be back," the Mandalorian said to you as he descended the ramp of the crest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You nodded as you snuggled the child. Giving a soft coo the child looked up at you and moved his ears. Sighing you turned and entered the crest, heading off to make lunch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You decided to eat lunch outside and enjoy the sunlight with the child while you could. It had been a while since your trio had inhabited a warm plant. The sun's rays kissing your skin left you feeling warm and hopeful. Hopeful for a better future and of not being alone again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It felt like home. The home you once knew for nearly 17 years where you had never felt alone or unloved. Where you had a garden and a family. Where cooking lessons from mother took place and sarcastic banter with your father. Where giggles from your brother bounced off the walls as he pulled your hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eyes stinging and bottom lip quivering you looked down at the child as he brought his soup up to his mouth. Just like him, you had been alone until Mando found you. A child without parents or someone to take care of you. Lost and abandoned trying to find your place in the galaxy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before you met Mando you had been loved by your parents. They worked hard for you and your brother and made every moment worth living. Your home had been small and your parents would work until exhaustion overtook their bodies, leaving you to cook and look after your brother. You would tend to the garden and sew clothes for the family. Each day you would thank your mother for the skills she taught you and your father for his sense of humor and hard work. Your family was all you had known In life. It was all you needed. It was home. Where you felt safe and adored.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But everything changed when the troopers came. To this day you swear you can still smell the fires and feel your lungs ache as they tried to breathe anything besides ash. The fires and storm troopers engulfed your village, taking the children and killing off anyone who tried to stop them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Your parents had gone out earlier that day to the market and had never returned. They had taken your brother as you spent the day reading and basking in the sunlight in the garden. The first sound of blaster fire startled you, your muscles freezing as you pulled a vegetable from the soft soil beneath your feet. It was another couple of moments before the next round of blaster shots could be heard, this time closer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When you could finally move again you looked off into the distance as the fires grew and smoke filled the sky. Panicking you ran inside and hid in the back of your parent’s closet. That was where your parents had told you to go if there was ever an invasion. They had created a room that was safe and where no one could find you. You waited and waited for your front door to be knocked down and for you're home to be stormed. No troopers ever came in search of you though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Neither had your parents.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You had spent days in and out of sleep not daring to leave the confined space of your hideout. On the third day, you had awoken to the noise of the front door opening and the shuffle of heavy footsteps. You waited a couple of minutes silently crying and praying to the maker that you wouldn't be found. Minutes turned into an hour, then two, then three, and eventually, night has fallen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You knew whoever had intruded your home had not left yet and they didn't seem like they were in a hurry to. You waited until the early morning just before sunrise to try and sneak out from your hidden space and had almost made it to the front door when heard the click of a blaster and felt the barrel of it pressed into your back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was then that the Mandalorian and Grogu had found you, starving, dehydrated, and filthy. You broke down crying and begging for him to just kill you. You refused to be taken as anyone's slave, servant or turned into a soldier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Watching you shake and please for death Mando had gracefully holstered his blaster and instead comforted you, explaining he would not hurt you and that he could leave once the sun rose and his child woke. In response, you told him that you would instead go. This place was a house but no longer a home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Putting the pieces together the Mandalorian sympathized with you and offered you a new beginning and what would eventually become your home. He expressed his concern about his son and needing someone to watch him while he went on missions. You considered and said you would think about it. Mando would be leaving later that night and told you that if you decided to join him to meet him at his ship just before sundown.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That evening Mando found you sitting outside of his ship with the few belongings you had and any produce that had not wilted from the ash and fires. The Mandalorian didn't say much or ask much of you and you quickly fell into a routine with him and the kid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That had been nearly a year ago. You had been too old to be a foundling but too young to become a bounty hunter yourself so you stuck with watching the child much as you did now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking down at the child again you saw his eyes begin to droop. Smiling weakly you packed up the remaining bits of lunch and scooped up the child.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Naptime my friend."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grogu cooed, nuzzling his head into your chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Making your way into the ship you shut the ramp and laid with the child on Din's cot until you both fell into a deep slumber.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Three days. It had been three days since Din left to go search for his bounty. You generally didn't worry but when his adventures hit the three-day mark anxiety started to kick in. You knew Din was capable of handling himself and would always comm you if there was trouble or if he needed you to fly the Crest to him. Despite knowing all of that you couldn't fight the bile that rose in your chest and the tunneling sensation of the world around you.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By sundown, on that night you felt like a walking corpse. You hadn't eaten but still had to fight the urge to throw up or break down crying. Grogu had watched you in concern all day and had been extra cuddly and affectionate. He could sense your unease and see your fear through forced smiles and glossy eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bedtime came early that night for the little womp rat. Trying to comfort you tuckered him out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Having time to yourself is both a blessing and a curse. You could cry freely without being embarrassed and without tiring out the kid but it also reminded you that you were alone and what you had lost. It reminded you that it could happen again. That the family you now had could be torn apart just as easily as your last.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sobbing, you sat in Din's chair in the cockpit wrapped in your favorite blanket from home. It still had the smell of your mother's perfume and your father's aftershave on it. Realizing one day that that too would fade and disappear you wept harder, letting out gasps of air as your lungs tried to replenish themselves. The material of the blanket caught the tears that rolled down your face and you wrapped it tightly around you in desperation to feel close to your family again. Eventually, your body gave up on supporting you and you fell out of the pilot's chair and laid on the cold metal ground. Eyes squeezed just hit salty tears continued to flow and splash onto the worn metal of the Crest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You don't know how long you were down there or how long you had been crying but you felt yourself being lifted and scooped into a hug. You wailed into Din's chest as he slowly rocked you.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"<em>Ni cuy' olar ad'ika</em>." His unmodulated voice rang through your ears and you felt his own tears fall down and into your hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You may have been too old to be a foundling when Din found you but he still adopted you as his own. He treated you as I'd you were his own child, laughing when you laughed, threatened to take away credits when you sassed him and cried when you cried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He understood your pain and hurt and his chest tightened every time you shed a tear. He knew you longed for your parents as much as he longed for it. If there was a way he could bring your parents back he would. You would do the same for him if you could.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was not a possibility though and you both knew it. Instead, the three of you made your own family. Your own clan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This is the way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rocking together on the floor of the cockpit you both cried into the night.</span>
</p>
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